not for defending my honor
by clairebxrton
Summary: Percy and Oliver's first kiss.


a/n: don't own. reviews appreciated.

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i.

"Oliver, shut up." Percy hissed as quietly as he could, looking over his shoulder towards Madam Prince. The Librarian didn't even spare them a glance, but Percy was worried that Oliver's ranting about Professor Snape was going to get them in trouble, or worse, kicked out. He glanced tentatively towards his friend and gave him a pleading look but the other first year was far too engrossed in his own argument on why said Professor had to have been born a vampire. His voice carried a bit and Percy, being the ever studious student that he was, really did not want to be kicked out of the library.

"Oliver," He tried again, "shush!"

The brown haired boy looked over to him, his rant sputtering off as he made a face. "Perce, are you shushing me?" The boy asked, looking as if he couldn't understand why his best friend of four months would do that. "That jerk of a professor took points off of you because you were, and I quote him here, 'being a know-it-all'! As if knowing the answers to his stupid questions were a bad thing, Perce! He was shaming you for being intelligent!"

"I know Ollie, but -" Percy didn't have anything to add. He wasn't going to go against a teacher just because they were rude. "He was probably hoping that one of the failing students or something would know."

"That doesn't matter, Percy!" Oliver all but shouted, bringing the wrathful eye of Madam Prince on them. She gave them a glare which settled Oliver back into his chair, a sheepish look upon his face. "Sorry, ma'am."

"Oliver," Percy sighed, "Please don't get us kicked out of the library."

"I'll try not to." Oliver said, smiling a bit, "But, I don't know why you aren't as offended about Snape's -"

"That's Professor Snape to you, Oliver."

" -rude comment." Oliver continued on as if he wasn't interrupted. "It was nasty and we really should tell McGonagall on him or something."

"Oliver, people are going to call me a know-it-all a lot because I am one. There's nothing to be getting into a huff about." Percy said.

Oliver frowned, "Percy, just because you are a know-it-all doesn't mean you have to just let people call you it! It's rude!" The brown haired boy leaned forward, his eyes alight with anger. "Don't let them get away with being rude to you! Intelligence isn't something that you have to feel bad about! You should be proud of it!" His voice raised a bit, not yet alerting the librarian, but loud enough that there were a few older students looking their way.

Percy flushed under the attention and moved forward, grabbing Oliver's arm and dragging him off towards one of the sections, hoping that the cover of the shelving would lessen the way his friend's voice carried. Though he was happy that someone was taking a stand against the way Professor Snape had been, he didn't want to get into anymore trouble. And plus, it wasn't like being a know-it-all was exactly a bad thing, in fact, it was a good thing. He was smart, he knew that, always did, and he really wasn't going to let anyone shame him into feeling bad about that.

"Oliver," Percy began, his voice uncertain, "I am proud of being smart, I just don't think yelling about what happened is going to solve anything. Professor Snape is a teacher, we're not going to win against him."

"Maybe not by doing it the right way, but if we pull a prank or -"

Oliver was cut off as Percy leaned forward and pushed their lips together, just slightly. He grinned into the chaste kiss and when Percy pulled back, the slight flush of his cheeks darkened in the badly lit area, he gave his friend a smile. "What was that for?" He asked.

"To shut you up before we get kicked out of the library and won't be able to write our Transfiguration essay." Percy said exasperatedly, but there was a hint of a smile - one that Oliver in the few months that he had known the other had learnt to read - that told him that that reason was just it.

"Right, not for defending your honor or anything like it?"

"No Oliver, it wasn't for defending my honor."

Oliver grinned again, "Then you wouldn't mind if I, perhaps, stole another kiss?" He leaned in, enjoying the way Percy's face flushed and heated.

"Honestly, Oliver!" Percy said, "We have schoolwork to finish, can you please think of homework first!"

"And here you said you wouldn't date me." Oliver said, "I remember meeting you on the train all those months ago - "

"It's been four months Oliver, calm down with your exaggerations." Percy interrupted with a goodnatured sigh.

"and you told me you wouldn't date me. Said 'We're first years, I don't think we'll be dating anyone.' and then put your head right back in your book, but here we are, months later, finally dating." Oliver said with a flourish. Honestly, he wasn't normally such a dramatic kid, despite what his loving mum and dad said, but when they meet, Oliver realised that Percy was going to be one of those kids who hated the limelight on himself and so he vowed to help his not yet friend get over his social fear.

"Oliver, I kissed you to shut you up, not because we're dating." Percy pointed out, "Plus, I still stand by what I said on the train: we're first years - eleven - we're not dating anyone, least of all each other. Now, don't make me regret kissing you and help me find the Advanced Edition of Transfiguration for the Hogwarts Student, it should be over here."

Oliver turned towards where Percy pointed and began looking before pausing, "So you don't regret it?"

"Oliver!"


End file.
